NBA NEWS AND RUMORS

Yahoo! Sports "The Boston Celtics have emerged as an increasingly intriguing destination for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love, and the Celtics' draft position coming out of Tuesday night's lottery could be telltale in determining the feasibility of a trade, league sources told Yahoo..." May 18

Boston Globe "Avery Johnson is enjoying his respite between NBA jobs, working as an ESPN analyst and preparing to watch his son, Avery Jr., enter his freshman season with the Texas A&M basketball team. So Johnson is not in search of one of the five available coaching openings, although he has had great..." May 18

CBSSports.com "The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that we may be seeing the end of those grating prolonged sequences of three officials huddled around a 2002-era computer screen to review a play; review could be headed to a centralized office. Get all your sports in one place. Download the FREE CBS..." May 18

New York Daily News "Scott Brooks is hoping Phil Jackson reaches out to Derek Fisher but not for at least another four weeks. Oklahoma City opens the Western Conference finals on Monday in San Antonio, and Fisher cannot meet with the Knicks until OKC’s season ends, which may not be until mid-June if the Thunder..." May 18

Fansided "The Kevin Love trade rumors are beginning to heat up as a number of teams begin planning their run at a potential trade for the Minnesota Timberwolves star. The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors are the teams most commonly linked to Love, but there is..." May 18

ESPN.com "Kevin Love has made it clear to the Timberwolves that he intends to become an unrestricted free agent after next season and has no interest in a contract extension this summer to stay in Minnesota, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Although sources say Love has stopped short..." May 18

Fansided "When it rains, it pours and for Minnesota Timberwolves fans, it’s a monsoon. After reports leaked suggesting that Kevin Love essentially wants a trade, now his teammates are speaking up and the comments aren’t exactly ringing endorsements for the All-Star power forward. Perhaps point guard..." May 18

CBSSports.com "The Kevin Love free agency drama (Love Fest? Summer of Love?) has officially begun. The Timberwolves star is set to be a free agent a year from now in the summer of 2015 but after whispers of him forcing his way out due to being unhappy in Minnesota for a year, the rumor mill started running..." May 18

Yahoo! Sports "As the Minnesota Timberwolves consider the future of All-Star forward Kevin Love, Sam Mitchell has emerged as a serious candidate for the franchise's head coaching job, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Mitchell left a good impression with Wolves president Flip Saunders in a recent meeting and..." May 18

Philly.com "Dante Exum is a mystery. There are videos of him galloping toward the rim and finishing with thunderous dunks, displaying his off-the-charts athleticism. But outside of those YouTube clips, the 6-foot-6 point guard from Australia is an unknown in the United States. And it was set up that..." May 18

CBSSports.com "Given Tom Izzo's success as the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans, and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores being an MSU alum, the talk in late March about the Pistons chasing Izzo as a head coach sounded pretty logical. It wasn't the first time Izzo had been linked to Detroit, and this time..." May 18

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Officially, open season for finding a new Timberwolves coach began nearly a month ago, when the team announced Rick Adelman’s retirement. In reality, it won’t truly start until Tuesday night. That’s when the NBA holds its annual draft lottery, its annual game of luck in which the Wolves have..." May 18

Fansided "The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently searching for another new head coach thanks to the firing of Mike Brown earlier this week but finding someone to lead the team seems to be easier said than done. Despite Cleveland having some real talent on their roster, head coaches are being scared away by..." May 18

Inside Socal "Within the next 48 hours, UConn coach Kevin Ollie plans to inform an undisclosed NBA team that has expressed interest that the feeling is not mutual, according to a league source familiar with his thinking. It is not clear which NBA team has reached out to Ollie, who guided the Huskies to the..." May 18

ESPN.com "Phil Jackson met with NBA lifer Mike Dunleavy on Friday morning to discuss the New York Knicks head coaching job, sources confirmed to ESPN.com. While one source close to the situation said Dunleavy is not at the top of Jackson's list, the source acknowledged that Dunleavy is indeed a..." May 18

Palm Beach Post "If there is one thing Dwyane Wade does not want to discuss, it is his health. That, of course, is exactly where Indiana’s Lance Stephenson took the conversation today. Looking ahead to his matchup with Wade, beginning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday (3:30 p.m., ABC),..." May 18

Fansided "After being abruptly removed from his position as head coach of the Golden State Warriors recently following a two-year string of playoff appearances, Mark Jackson signed on to return to ESPN as an analyst, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s completely out of the picture to take over..." May 18

Long Beach Press-Telegram "A busy few days that entailed taking detailed notes and asking detailed questions finally ended. But as Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak wrapped up his work evaluating and interviewing draft prospects here at the NBA pre-draft combine, it only marked the beginning of a process where he will..." May 18

Fansided "The Portland Trail Blazers will have a handful of contractual decisions to make after the 2014-15 season, though general manager Neil Olshey says LaMarcus Aldridge is priority number one. Set to make just over $16 million dollars next season, Aldridge will enter the final year of his deal..." May 18